Cruising

Yachts

• Bluebird Of Thorne, 50-

ft twin-keel yacht, sailed into Suva Harbour recently with leading British amateur yacht designer and past Commodore of the Royal Cruising Club, Lord Riverdale, aboard. His present yacht is the third and largest in her line.

Since leaving Gibraltar last Nov ember on her present cruise, Bluebird of Thorne had averaged 5i knots under sail. Also on board are Lord Riverdale’s two nephews, Michael Hunt from England and John Hope from Australia and a life-long sailing friend, Brian Leech, from Derbyshire, After 10 days in Suva, the yacht was due to leave for Auckland.

• Hummingbird Two, 38 Ft

yacht with skipper-owner Harold Le Borde, his wife Kwailand, and their five-year-old son, Pierre, on board, arrived at Rarotonga recently from Tahiti. Also on board was Barry Sennions who joined the yacht at Tahiti.

It took Mr. Le Borde three years full time work to build his yacht and the cruise started from Trinidad, West Indies last February. The Le Bordes are making a world cruise which they expect to complete in lh years. So far, they have visited Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Galapagos, the Marquesas and Tahiti.

After a fortnight in Rarotonga they were to leave for Tonga, Fiji, and New Caledonia, and Mr. Sennions was to leave the yacht in Fiji. • HARARANDA, Lund Marks’

Melbourne ketch arrived in Auck land from Tasmania by way of NZ’s South Island, after cruising Fjordland for several months. Lund and his wife, expected to leave Auckland for points east in late September. • ISO, 42 ft sloop with skipper Gerry Hansen and four crew, was in the Cooks recently en-route to the USA, via Tahiti. Iso had been at Rarotonga, Cooks, last year, and one of her current crew, Odo Strewe, had made two previous trips to Rarotonga. • CUTTY SARK, 60 ft cutter out of Wellington, NZ, was in the

Cooks en-route to Tahiti, and then possibly the Marquesas, before sailing for the Samoas, Fiji, the New Hebrides and Australia. On board were Captain Basil Fleming, of Brisbane, Australia, and 10 crew. • JELLICLE 11, English yacht with Mike Bailes and a Canadian friend, was to leave Vila, New Hebrides, in late September for New Guinea, Indonesia and Japan, before returning to Tahiti where Mike has spent the last two years working as a tourist guide. • KATE, Dr. A. M. Van Schoote’s ketch with the doctor and his Trukese crewman Amanto, is missing

on a voyage between Guam and Japan. A familiar sight around Truk, Carolines, since he bought the ketch in 1966, Kate was a 30 ft two-master, Dr. Schoote, Truk District Staff Physician, had planned to have Kate's engine overhauled in Japan and also arrange for small atoll dis pensary buildings around Truk. Kate left Gaum in late July. • LONGSHIPS, 50 ft English catamaran with Mervin and May Lippiatt and their young daughter, was in the Cooks recently, en-route to Suva, Fiji. Previous calls included the Tuamotus and Tahiti. The Lippiatts hope to settle in Australia or New Zealand.

• GEARRA, 32 ft sloop with Dick and Betty Page, called in at Suva recently, en route to Australia.

Gearra left London two years ago and plans were to stay a year in Australia before returning to London.

• Fascination And Sideliz

called at Vila, Efate, New Hebrides, recently. Fascination came from Fiji with skipper Bob Vernon and a crew of two and plans were, after a look around the Hebrides, to head for New Caledonia and Sydney, Sideliz, with Mr. and Mrs. Sid Yaffe and Steve Lawson, was headed for New Caledonia. • STELLA NEUS, with Dick and

Jean Jones, recently reached Hono lulu after an interesting trip from Suva, Fiji, which included stops at several outer Fijian islands, Pago Pago, Apia, and two seldom-visited mid-Pacific islands, Canton and Palmyra.

• Sea Wanderer, Edward

Allcard’s 50-year-old ketch, left Westhaven, New Zealand, on Sep tember 31 for Singapore where Ed hoped to stay two months and build a replica of a 15th century Portu guese caravel. The ketch was last mentioned at Westhaven in May, 1968. p. 110. • RENEE TIGHE, Earl Koepke’s

yacht, in the New Hebrides since late July (PIM, Sept., p. 119), was to leave Malekula recently for Bris bane, Queensland. With Mr. Koepke was Mr. Charles Blankenship. • CHAMARU, Charles Sturkey’s 49 ft tri, was to leave Tarawa, Gilbert and Ellice Islands, recently for Apia, Western Samoa. Chamaru reached Tarawa on September 17 from Kusaie, Carolines. She was in Saipan, Marianas, in June (PIM, Sept., p. 118).

• Stella Mira, Roscop And

ISLANDER, all recently made calls at Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Stella, with Mr. Simpkin and his daughter Penny came from Tahiti and was headed for Perth, Western Australia; Roscop, with Josef and Marie Cop pens, of Belgium, was from Tahiti and headed for Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia and Brisbane and Islander, with single-hander Thomas Black well, was from Tahiti, en route to Tonga and Brisbane, • CASTANET, winner of this year’s Auckland-Suva race ( PIM, July, p. 11), was recently up for sale in Auckland, NZ. • BUOYANT GIRL, 37 ft sloop with Martin Kalman and Judy Woodlock, stopped at Savusavu, Fiji, in October. The sloop left San Francisco, California, in July, and last port of call before Fiji was Apia, Western Samoa. • DRUA (“twin”), a 42 ft twin hulled sailing canoe, recently made a 200-mile trip from Ogea, Lau Islands, to Suva. Drua is a small replica of the old 110 ft Fijian canoes which used to carry up to 200 warriors. She was built by Ogea Islanders for a Fijian businessman in Suva. • CHITA 111 , 40 ft Japanese racing sloop with skipper Hiroaki Yoshida, 34, and a crew of three, was to leave Suva, Fiji, in October for Manila, via the New Hebrides and New Guinea.

• Nirvana And Queequeg

recently collided—with slight damage —about 50 miles north of Vila, Efate, between Epi and Lopevi Islands, in the New Hebrides. Both yachts, with skippers George Balkanyi ( Nirvana ) and Stephen Samu ( Queequeg ) returned to Vila to carry out minor repairs. • HIGHLIGHT, the Glennie’s tri, known on Lord Howe Island,

was recently in Honolulu, with John and David Glennie in Vancouver, completing yacht delivery jobs.

Highlight was last mentioned in March (page 111) when David told PIM he planned to sell her. Before her current travels, Highlight had made an extensive three-year cruise of the Islands, returning to NZ in mid-1968 {PIM, Aug., 1968, p. 107). • WANDERER, Gene and Mary Hervin’s 42 ft ketch, was at Kusaie, Caroline Islands, recently from where Mary told PIM in a note that they had found a house and Gene had started working for the Public Works Department.

Electricity reached Kusaie August 31, she said. “Really an event for all of us. No more noisy generator in the backyard. At this time the government complex, hospital and three territory houses are all that are on the power, but plans are underway for more use of electricity on the island”. • STORNAWAY, with Alfred and Marjorie Petersen, reached Sausalito, California, recently, com pleting a 40-month cruise of the Islands and the Far East.

A 1 told PIM they had “never en countered such consistently poor conditions for so long,—fog, cold, strong winds, thick overcast. Tlie dinghy was stove-in and Marjorie received a broken arm during one particularly bad spell when only three weeks out of Japan”. • BONA DEA, reported recently in PIM at Recife, Brazil (Oct., p. 115), has sailed on to Britain and in late September was expected to leave for the West Indies, via Spain and Portugal. In the West Indies, Bona Dea’s skipper, Andy Price, hoped to complete several months’ charter work before heading for NZ. • JAH AMA, with Jack Ross and Bob Hervin, paid their scheduled visit to Tom Neale, the “Crusoe” of Suvarov, Cook Islands, early this year (PIM, June, p. 112). In a note from Suvarov to parents, Gene and Mary Hervin of Wanderer (last reported on Kusaie, Carolines), Bob said “Aloha from a desert island.

No kids, no Hondas, no stores, no mosquitos, no tourists . . . and this place will stay this way for years to come. Tom saw us as we were sail ing in the pass and he came out in

his skiff to pilot us to the anchorage, “He is 67 years-old but is spry as a fella of 35. Tanned dark with tropical sun and is in A 1 health.

We brought him a load of food, gifts, rum and tried to get six chickens to him. Everything we got there OK except the chickens, which got carried away by a big sea during a blow.

“We have had a great time visiting Tom. On one motu there were some fittings of an old square rigger that must have gone ashore in the 1800’s.

We saw a fitting that holds the yards to the mast and aFo found the re mains of a Japanese fishing boat.

“I did a lot of diving and found some anchors, one big one I put in

front of Tom’s house. Who knows, some day Tom can sell it to a big hotel operator for an ornament? We will take 15 or 16 glass balls to Samoa and try to sell them for him.

“Tom gave us papayas, eggs, coco nuts, and a chicken which was sure a nice change from our diet. He is really quite a guy. Still does a lot of reading and keeps himself and his place up very good.”

Bob later left Jahama in Suva and travelled by island trader through the Gilbert and Ellice Islands to Kusaie. Jack Ross and his wife were last reported on Jahama in Fiji, with plans to sail for Japan at a later date.